SENSORY EVALUATION OF CAKE PRODUCED FROM COMPOSITE FLOUR OF WHEAT AND RICE FLOUR

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Cakes are convenient food products. They are usually sweet and often baked, prepared from flour, sugar, shortening, baking powder, egg, and essence as principal ingredients . Wheat is the major flour used in cake production. Herbert (2000) reported that cake produced from wheat flour alone lack adequate protein needed for growth, repair of tissues and building of cells. In addition, cake made from wheat flour is too expensive for an average person from a developing country to afford.
This has greatly influenced the use of composite flours in which flours from locally grown crops and high protein seeds replace a portion of wheat flour for use in bread and other pasties production, therefore decreasing the demand for imported wheat and increasing the production of protein-enriched bread and pasties (GOlaoye, 2006).
Literatures abound on the use of composite flours in the production of cake. Fasano (2011), reported the use of fava beans and cowpea flour in the production of cake The use of wheat-based composite flours in the production of cookies have also been reported.
Sanful (2010) reported that cakes made from wheat-rice flour were more acceptable than whole wheat flour cake and the nutritional contents increased as the amount of rice increased. The production of cake from wheat, soya beans and rice flour have also been reported (Ugwuona, 2012). These authors reported that cakes produced from composite flour blends were higher in protein, carbohydrates and fat contents than those made of 100% wheat flour.

In Nigeria, the consumption of cake is high, as celebrations takes place weekly across the country and thus, the consumption of wheat flours. Attempts to remove the gluten ingredients in foods may result in the loss of nutritional balance (Olaoye, 2006). Wheat flour has also been known to be expensive in Nigeria compared to other cereals mainly because it is not produced locally, however, there are so many other crops grown in Nigeria and attempts have been made by many researchers to complement wheat flours with non-wheat flours particularly legumes flour for pastry products. Onwuka et al., (2005) reported that acceptable cakes could be produced from wheat flour substituted with up to 50% of rice flours.
The active ingredients of cake such as wheat flour, sugar and fat have been known to be linked to health related problems like the celiac disease, diabetes and obesity respectively. One way to solve this problem is to seek alternative sources of flour and sweeteners in cake production.
This project work, therefore evaluate cake making potential of composite wheat rice flours it also evaluate the sensory attributes of composite flour of wheat and rice flour.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There is a gross over dependence on improved wheat flour, Nigeria climate does not favour the cultivation of what. The demand for wheat is on the increase and has by far exceeded its supply. About 75% of our foreign exchange is lost through importation of wheat hence we are looking for a substitute which will even yield a foreign exchange through export for the country. Rice seems to have the potential for such again there is increase in the price of wheat, and therefore, there is the need to look for a very close substitute, cheaper, cost effective and at the same time having equal value in quantity and quality as wheat, again, there is need to find out whether the taste, flavour, colour, texture and other sensory attributes of rice closely compete with that of wheat. It is based on this gaps that this research work is intending to evaluate the sensory characteristics of cake produced with the composite flour of wheat and rice.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The researcher is poised with the following objectives after careful research on the recent development of alternative flour made out of rice.
1. Creating awareness using this as medium to educate and enlighten the general public and bakery industries about the consumption possibility of both wheat and rice flour to produce cake and other bakery products.
2. Educating the people on the quality, nutritional values and benefits attached to the baked products, especially cakes produced from both wheat and rice flour.
3. To compare quest preferences for using rice flour and wheat flour in cake production.
4. To determine the overall acceptability of cake produced from composite flour of wheat and rice.
5. Educating the local populace about the economic importance of using the composite flour of wheat and rice flour in terms of cost, local availability and production.